


Hunger

by Shanecei



Series: Ana is a Friend [1]
Category: Baratale, Horrortale - Fandom, Underfell - Fandom, Undertale, Undertale (Video Game), underswap
Genre: AU, Agender Reader, Angst, Anorexia, Anorexic, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kidnapping, M/M, Multiverse, Non-binary Reader - Freeform, Read with appropriate caution, Threesome, Threesome - F/M/M, Triggers, possible reverse harem, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2020-01-13 07:02:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18463894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shanecei/pseuds/Shanecei
Summary: It gnawed at your insides.Begging for anything. Love, reasons to live, a sliver of self asteem. But you didn't need it.You didn't need anything, or anyone, you were surviving fine.Just fine.





	1. Numbers

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!
> 
> So I asked in my other fic if this was a good idea or not, and the general consensus was sure why not.
> 
>  
> 
> This is obviously a very triggering fic, so please, please don't read if your worried about relapsing or even at risk of developing one.
> 
>  
> 
> It wont be representative of all anorexic people, and I have dramatized a lot of it, but it is still mostly what I experience myself. Please respect that.
> 
> WELP THAT WAS SOMTIN EY?
> 
> Enjoy you masochistic fucks, this isn't gonna be the fluffy style I've written in before.

I crawl out of bed.

Hunger pulses in a dull rhythm at my stomach, I bare my teeth in a very slight grimace.

_i don't have the energy for this shit._ Grabbing an oversized hoodie and baggy jeans, I strip myself of my clothing and stand in front of the mirror.

Palming the fat on my midsection, pinching the fat on my arms, circling my hands above my knee and pulling them up as far as I can. I grab the scale and weigh myself in the bathroom. I still weigh too much to be acceptable. The routine of my morning.

Hunger now being ignored once more, I dress quickly to avoid seeing it any longer. Heading into the kitchen, I open my fridge to see it still empty; save for a few heads of lettuce, a punnet of strawberries and a handful of leftover raspberries. Taking out the lettuce, I pull off 2 leaves and place the rest away. I quickly check the time.

It's 6:30. I eat them in slow, large bites, chewing plentifully as I brew some green tea.

_ lettuce, 2 leaves, 4.2. _

_ green tea, speeds metabolism, 0. _

_ total, 4.2. _

  


The pain leaves once I'm finished, but the desire to eat doesn't. It never does. Checking how strong the tea is, I leave the room with my mug in hand. I sit on the couch and turn on the TV. I grab my book and turn it to a fresh page for the new week; logging the meal, looking at the thinspiration, reading the 3 pages of messages that help me in my journey. I add a new one to the list, **Eat to live, don't live to eat**.

After the mindless chatter of the news drones fade, I shut my book and stand to empty the leaves into the bin. Heading over to the door, I slide trainers over my feet and, steeling myself, enter the outside world.

  


I was sliding into my work uniform when it hits me again. I tie the apron with subtly shaking hands and fill the kettle to boil. Another cup of green tea is quickly set into my grasp, and the warmth fills my stomach, killing the pains for the rest of my shift.

"Hey, can you take section 2 today?" I jump slightly, but turn with a grimace.

"I dunno, what about 3?" It had a decent amount of smaller tables, and I preferred them as I usually got more tips. I ran around more too, so it burnt more than the others.

"Sorry, Susie's got it." I nod in understanding. She was struggling with her rent so I let it be. 

"Alright. See ya in my break, Rick." He waves me off so I head into the floor. I take a glance around my section and see there's only one couple in at the moment. I grab my notepad and pen from my apron pocket and walk towards their table. 

"Good morning. Have you decided or would you like more time?" I tilt my head slightly in their direction. The taller woman speaks first, then the smaller one.

"Oh, yes we've decided. Could I have the eggs benedict?"

"And I'll have the toasted bagel with cream cheese, chives and salmon. Thank you." _they seem nice. If only the rest of my shift could go this way_. I give a small grin in appreciation and write down their orders.

"Alright, any drinks? We ha-"

"I'd leike a tall glass o' you, hunny." My expression freezes in place. I turn towards the voice, who just entered (stumbled) into the building, along with the two ladies. _it's a drunk_. Dropping the smile, I address the polite patrons.

"I'll be right back. Please excuse the delay." I put the pen behind my ear and notepad into my apron before _booking_ it into the back. Throwing open the door, my senses getting assaulted by food, I whisper-yell at Mike, the manager.

"There's a drunk guy hitting on people! Who even drinks at 8 in the morning!?" He looks surprised also, but wipes his hands off and leaves. I take over his station and cook the salmon he was preparing for the day.

When he arrives back I relinquish my task to him. He didn't look any different so I assume he was a calm, but flirty drunk.

I leave the kitchen, apologise for the disruption, and take the rest of the couple's orders.

My stomach never stops.

  


I get home and fall into my bed. Leaning the pillow against the wall, I sit up and grab my journal. Noting down a diary entry, weight and, grabbing a tape measure; my arms, thighs, waist, stomach and wrists.

Finishing off, I go into the kitchen and take out the rest of the raspberries. Placing them in the counter as I grab a bowl of vegetable broth from the pot I made yesterday.

_b_ _roth, 5._

_r_ _aspberries, 1 cup, 64._

_to_ _tal to today, 73.2._

I finish in around 45 mins, reading through my inspiration list a few times more, and rinse the bowl out.

I go into my living room and project my laptop to the T.V, putting on a series of 7 Days to Die to exercise to. 

I go to bed after adding my calories to the journal.

  


Wake up.

Oversized clothes.

Stomach, fat. Arms, large. Thighs, gelatinous. Weight, high.

Breakfast, lettuce and strawberries. 38. Boil water, drink tea.

Work.

Get home.

Log diary, weight and measurements.

Eat dinner.   _Why would you eat that?_

Exercise. Log calories and deficit. _Not enough_

  


Wake.

Body.

Food.

Work.

Log. _So much_

Dinner.

Exercise.

  


Body. _Too big_

Food. _Don't eat again_

Work.

Food.

Purge. _GetitoutGetitoutGetitoutGetito_ utGetitoutGetitoutGetitoutGetitoutGetitoutGetitout

  


Food. _Don't Eat that what are you doing put it down **put it down puT IT DOWN**_

Purge.

  


Food.

Purge.

  


Purge.

Purge.

Purge.

Purge.

_Purge._

_Purge._

_PurgePurgePurgePurgePurgePurge PurgePurgePurgeGoawayGoawayGoawayGoawayGoawayGoawayGoawayGOAWAYGOAWAYGOAWAY **GOAWAYGOAWAYI'LLGAINI'LLGAINI'** LLGAINDON'TMAKEMEGAINPLEASEDON'TDOTHISIDON'TWANTTHISANYMO-_

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


_...then it was white._


	2. Brain.exe has Stopped Working

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Btw for the updating schedule on this fic
> 
> there isn't one lol. I'll mostly just post when I feel it's been a good amount of time, or if I have a giant surplus of chapters written.
> 
> Hope you continue to enjoy it though!

I groan at another headache. _Waking up never ends up well._

I roll over and go back to sleep.

 

 

 

 

I wake up for the second time. An unknown number of hours has passed, so I pry my eyelids open and, bleary eyed, reach over for my phone. My arm slides lazily over my stomach and extends towards the bedside table. My hand hits something and I grab it without much thought.

I grab something soft.

Sitting up quickly, I clear the blur from my eyes with the backs of my hands and blink in the direction I reached. And up. Until I reach the eyes of a black boned skeleton?!

My brain audibly malfunctions, expressing though my mouth as I throw myself backwards. Only to collide with something, or someone, else. I slowly look down to the ground behind me.

A pair of brown, ankle high trainers lead to bony legs. A tight under-clothing hides the patella up, shorts cover them, and tied hoodie, light blue, hoodie covers _them_. I skip the rest of the body, my heart pounding and wanting to know is my suspicions are correct.

They were. Another skeleton of cartoonist proportion stands behind me with a concerned expression draped across their skull. I scramble to my feet and take a couple steps (read, stumble) backward so I face the two.

I think hard about a question, imagining the sound that will be best able to express myself. Carefully articulating my thoughts to be as kind and accurate with the representation of my uninformed mind. The English lexicon is scanned quickly, and the sentence is put together just as fast.

"What the fuck." _Not a question but good try_.

The white one, _I hope that isn't racist_ , looks disappointed at me; while the black one, _Guess I’ll keep saying it anyway_ , looks annoyed.

"Hi! I'm Sans! But you can call me Ink! The grumpy pants over there is Sans, but you can call him Error." I take a second to gape over the fact that a being without a tongue or lungs can speak. _Wait, do they have the same name?_ He steamrolled ahead while I contemplated, not seeming to care in the slightest about my stunned state.

"We're going to help you get over your body dismorphia and anorexia!" Wait, hold the phone. I lift up my hands and do a placating gesture, closing my eyes for second and shaking my head slightly.

"Hold on, I don't have either of those. I’m actually overweight, and I’m also not able to process any of what is happening right now so I’m gonna ignore it. Could you just, send me back so I can have my mental breakdown in peace?"

…

…

"...excuse me?"

…

…

"Oh great, I broke them." I walk over to Ink slowly, keeping Error in my eye line, vigilant for any movement. When I'm a little too close, Ink snaps to attention, causing me to jerk back, losing the sight I had on Error. Not that I noticed, being preoccupied with the latter skeleton. _How the hell am I already so calm about this._

I flinch back again when he turns his eyes and head towards me. I hear a quiet click emanate from my spine at the rudeness of my movement. He grabs my wrist in one hand and turns to Error, seeming to have a conversation without speaking, and starts to drag me somewhere in the void of white.

"H-hey! Let go of me!" I panic and try to dig my heels in, but find no purchase on the white ground. Or non-existent walls that I go to grab for. Or ceiling. _Wow I am unobservant._ I hear a quiet murmur from Error, who I had momentarily forgotten in the sudden action.

"are you fucking kidding me." He swears. Ink glanced over his shoulder at him. I don't see his expression but from my first words to him and his subsequent reaction, I assume it was one of disappointment.

"Well! It looks like you're in denial so we will start with a different pair of brothers. We just have to- hey!" I wrench my arm out of his loosened grip, a slight jolt of pain shooting up my arm, and sprint away. While he was speaking, I started to notice that he didn’t grip me as tightly as before.

His hand wrapped around my wrist easily, some of his phalanges overlapping each other. My bones ground unnaturally against his phalanges, causing his worry to skyrocket from its already astronomical level.

Not that I noticed.

I duck under a blue string that materialised in front of me, not even questioning it after what I've already seen, instead focusing on not turning into a puppet or swiss cheese. _A swiss cheese puppet?_ A few more appear, speeding towards my limbs in an attempt to stop my retreat. I dodge most but one scratches the back of my arm.

I pant, already tired and losing my breath. I had never been the most athletic, and I only got lazier once I left school. Never once did I regret it more than this moment. _piggy_.

My legs have started to get weak now, the muscles burning and creaking in the protest of the movement I'm forcing upon them. My lungs burn from the exertion of dragging my fat along with me. Hair starts to stick to my forehead with a fine layer of sweat as I slow down.

I take a few more stumbling steps, until I collapse. My legs twitch once before going still, unlike my ribcage which rises and falls faster and faster and faster. Until,

it goes dark.

 

 

 

 

 

I awake once more on a plush surface.


	3. Skeletor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know I said updating would be random but I didn't mean to wait this long...
> 
> oops?

My legs feel like a dead weight attached to my lower half. More so than usual that is. My face scrunched up into a wince as push myself into a sitting position. Opening my eyes, I wait for them to adjust before examining my surroundings.

 

It appears I was in a living room. The sofa beneath me was an old, dirty green with a few patches of fabric missing. A carpet adorned the centre of the wooden flooring, with a small table upon it made of a pine appearing wood; there was also a TV, but it looked like the old box ones with antennae instead of a flat screen. A blanket was draped across my form, so I pulled it over my shoulders to give me a sense of security against the unknown place. It was decorated with cartoon skulls which made me smile slightly.

 

I heard a noise come from a doorway leading to the kitchen. I sit up so my back rests against the furthest armrest and look towards the sound.

 

A huge skeleton enters the room.

 

At a minimum of 8ft tall, the monstrous size is not the scariest part. Elongated, jagged teeth fill their maw; they overlap and jut out at angles, held together by a thin strip of wire, sending a spike of fear into my core. There is a breast plate covering their ribs, nowhere near as new as it once appeared to be, littered with dents and scratches.

 

I barely contain my scream. My heart rate picks up even more when they walk closer to me, large steps reducing the time it took to do so. When they reached the side of the sofa, they fell to one knee to look at me without straining their back.

 

I wince in preparation for a loud bang when they fell, but no such sound occurred. I justify to myself that its because they’re a skeleton. I needed one piece of semi-logical explanation to prevent myself from going crazy. Looking up at their teeth, I wait in anticipation for whatever happens next.

 

"HELLO HUMAN!" I wince at the volume he spoke at, unconsciously bringing my hands up to cover my ears. I un-scrunch my face, and finally bring myself to look him in the eyes.

 

A thump pounds against my chest. The sudden, one off lurch shocked me, but the tall skeleton's eyes somehow widened at the same time. He shakes his head.

 

"MY NAME IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS! HOW ARE YOU FEELING?" _Other than my head spinning like a top, I feel like I was hit by a truck… Twice._

 

I think on how to respond, and decide to be honest. He seemed friendly.

 

"My legs ache, but otherwise I'm fine." Mostly honest. He nods at me with a serious expression; leaping up as he seems to make up his mind, he poses heroically as his cape fluttered in the unseen wind. I even looked around for open windows or doors.

 

"GOOD! I, THE GREAT PAPYR-err-CROOKS, SHALL GATHER SOMETHING TO HELP YOU FEEL BETTER." I smile lightly, once you looked past the appearance, he was a really sweet person. Crooks turns to the stairway I only just noticed, and takes a breath in somehow.

 

" **AXE! COME LOOK AFTER THE HUMAN, BROTHER!** " My hands leap to protect my ears the moment he starts speaking. Well, it was more akin to shouting. _Oh God, what if Axe yells too?!_ I take the almost useless defence of my hands and rest them back onto my knees. I curl a bit more in on myself when I see the other skeleton.

 

If I thought Crooks was scary, I had a whole new thing coming when I saw Axe.

 

He, was, massive. Sure, Crooks was tall, but he was practically a string bean; Axe on the other hand, was around 6ft and about three times the width of Papyrus. Not even mentioning the fact that half his skull was _caved in_ , he had a single blood red eye light that bore into my soul, the icy blue rim only making the gaze even colder.

 

He stomps, no, lumbers down the stairs. Each step I could feel echo in my chest cavity.

 

" sup', bro?" Good god his voice was deep. It felt cold, yet had a sense of strength behind it. Now I thought about it, Crooks' voice, while scratchier, had a certain naivety to it.

 

His piercing eye rolled over to me, interrupting his brother before he could start. I couldn't bear to meet his eye, so I stared at his teeth, specifically his canines.

 

"why is there a human in the house?" He sounded monotone, deadpan, not angry just genuinely curious why I was here. Crooks turned towards him with his hands on his hips.

 

"WELL, BROTHER, THIS IS THE HUMAN THAT INK WAS SENDING TO US. IT'S IN YOUR NOTEBOOK." Axe's blood red eye appeared to waver slightly. He reached into his pocket at a lackadaisical pace, and retrieved a small green notebook that had a smiley face indent on it. He flipped through a few pages and flicked his eye across the page.

 

"i guess you were right." His pupil constructed very slightly as he thought for a few seconds, Crooks waiting patiently for him to speak.

 

"where you going? and why does the human need lookin’ after?" He finally says.

 

I space out from the conversation. It seemed to be between the brothers after all, I was probably only burdening them because of Ink after all.

 

_why am i here? Ink said it was to "Help me get over my anorexia", but even Axe can see that i don't have it. i'm not skinny enough to have an eating disorder, let alone recover from one… wait, is this skeleton named sans as well? he looks kind of similar, body shape and all. i shouldn't assume anything though, he could probably pop my head like a grape with one hand._

 

I shift in place slightly, wrapping my arms around my legs and resting my chin on my knees. _i don’t care anymore; i just want to go home. this is getting to crazy for me, and Iiknow it isn't a dream because of the pain in my legs. plus, i would be pretty fucked up to dream this sort of thing. being teleported to another dimension twice with likely three people sharing a name, as well as an innocent ray of sunshine in a mangled, horrifying body. would this constitute as a dream or a nightmare?_

 

I get broken out of my reverie by someone shaking my arm. I quickly pull out of their grasp, but keep it subtle to avoid suspicion. I look towards Axe as he nods to the kitchen.


	4. Hello Darkness My Old Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is a taster of some of the darker themes, but it is still tame compared to what i have planned  
> *evil cackling

"c'mon, we're gonna get started on dinner for Crooks." I nod slowly, and he shambles into the next room. I stand up and stretch my arms above my head. I let them fall back down under gravity's will, and absentmindedly caress my collar bone as I in zombie into the kitchen. I was more lethargic than I expected, probably because of the running. I see the cupboard he's reaching into, and speak up before a make a bigger fool out of myself.

"What are we making?" He places the plates onto the counter with a slight clatter.

"spaghetti." I nod and head to one of the bottom drawers, pulling it open, I find my suspicions were correct and heft the pot onto the hob. I dust my hands on in a mock job well done and turn to Axe, only to have my arms grasped suddenly and be face to ribcage with a skeleton.

I squeak in surprise. Before I get to say anything though, I get pulled into a sudden bridal lift and carried into the living room. I'm then gently place onto the couch. I turn towards him with the most confused expression I've ever made; I felt so tense now, how could he pick me up so easily?

"you’re not going anywhere." My face pales.  _I_ _can't leave?_ My heart begins to speed up as I shrink away from his hulking form.

"W-what?"

"how are you walking? how are you breathing? how are you alive?" Now that he had spoken more, I could tell he spoke like he walked. Slowly with faux laziness, but a deliberate intention behind every word. I also noticed that he appeared to be losing himself. His eye light was blurring and losing its blue, and a manic visage was starting to take shape. I was shocked. _Why is he so worried? I ate yesterday…_

Sensing the danger I was in, I tried to get up. Launching myself towards the right of him, I pray for my escape. Unfortunately, he can move much faster than I can. He spins only a few degrees before grabbing my arm with an iron grip. I'm tugged back. He bends down and hefts me into his arms, pinning me to his chest in a foetal position. I claw at and writhe within his arms, trying in vain to save myself from this insane monster. He doesn't seem to notice my efforts, and carried me upstairs while I steadily tired myself out. I eventually go limp, quickly accepting my fate. He seems satisfied and takes me into a room before gently placing me onto the mattress upon the floor. I can see a tender grin spread across his face, breaking through the delirium. Axe covers me with the blanket, tucking me in tenderly before leaving. I hear the lock click as he closes the door behind him. Then something happened.

A white rip in space formed in the middle of the room. I looked over to it with my head remaining still, only to see what I hoped was the ending of this danger. Ink ran into the room and frantically looked around. Once he spotted me, I was scooped up for the second time in under a minute. Just as he began to speed-walk back to the tear, Sans, the manic one, re-entered the room.

Everything happened so fast.

The tray Axe was holding clattered to the floor. The food spilled across the floor, staining the already dark carpet with even darker hues. He launched himself in our direction, a faint trickle of smoke escaping from his eye. Ink skilfully dodged out of the way of the charging bull, not jostling me in the slightest, and hopped back into the white void where all of this started. As the rip snapped shut behind him, I got a glimpse of the other side. He was standing mournfully, looking so depressed, yet a faint hint of confusion and anger started to bloom across his features.

I almost felt bad.

Once on the other side, Ink placed me down on a bed. I don't know where it came from, but I couldn't care less at this point. I have had no free will for the last day and a half, and I was starting to go crazy with the lack of control. My heart slowed minutely, starting to drag me under. I could hear Ink telling me that this wasn’t what he intended to happen.

I felt empty. Numb. Detached.

I let the blanket be pulled over my ever-freezing body. Not like I had the will to stop him. The last thing I saw before shutting my eyes, was a skeletal hand reaching towards my head. A gentle stroking of my hair commenced. The soothing, repetitive motion forced a single tear from my eye, lightly surprising me in my state. My heart stuttered, phantom pain blooming in my chest as my breath hitched slightly. I couldn’t bare to stay in this state any longer.

It went dark again.


	5. Strawberries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning for some triggers, if you don't have any skip this to avoid spoilers:
> 
> Mouth related gore (teeth falling out)  
> Body horror

Strawberry juice flooded my senses. The texture was the perfect mixture of soft with the bite of a fresh fruit. The taste was sweet yet not overbearing, the scent subtle but delicious. I stuffed another into my mouth. And then another. I stopped bothering with removing the stems. As I went to add another, I noticed a tub of Nutella in front of me. My eyes glimmered with excitement as I dipped the fruit into the spread.

The flavours mingled beautifully in my mouth. The creamy chocolate coated my tongue and teeth, easily reaching all the crevices of the pearly whites. Then I couldn’t open my mouth. My molars were glued together by the chocolate.

A short sound of surprise escaped me. I licked around the chocolate, but it had solidified into a large mass of concrete. My breathing began to pick up. Lifting my hands to claw at my teeth, my lips parted to allow access. My desperation increases as muffled whimpers escape me. I start to pull out teeth, clattering them across the floor and blood becoming indistinguishable from the juice I dribbled, staining my hands and chin.

Then I wake up again.

I don’t jump with a start. The dream was in line with the ones I had for a few years now. I opened my eyes and sat up, glancing at my surroundings to ground myself. The white vastness started to give me a headache so I turned to the only other thing I could see, Ink at the foot of the bed. The bed itself appeared to be a simple wooden frame and mattress, a pale blanket covering it. _it almost looks like my bed at home._ Ink himself was sitting on the floor, resting his skull on his crossed arms that lay across my bed. I start to think about what I have to eat for the day, but quickly throw away the thought process once I remember that I don’t have any way to control it. I gently poke Ink with the base of my foot, probing him awake. He blearily bats his eye sockets, causing my face to scrunch in confusion towards his anatomy. Suddenly, he perks up and stands suddenly, placing his hands on his hips.

“Sorry about that! That wasn’t what I-We wanted to happen.” His eyes squint as he looks into the space behind me. I turn my head to see what he was looking at, but nothing was there. I return my gaze to Ink and pull my legs to my chest, feeling scared and a bit defensive. He visibly shakes himself off and refocuses on me.

“How are you feeling?” My suspicion over his intentions causes me to squint at him. I try think of an innocuous answer that he will still accept, while also settling my mind from my lack of control.

“Cold.” _Nice job me, definitely what he was asking._ I can tell he was prying into my emotional state, so he was a bit thrown off by my answer. He just nods to himself, suddenly looking very serious, and turns around. My suspicion raises even further, and I jump when he whips back around. In his hand was a jacket. With some encouragement from himself, I get out from under the blanket and stand to the side of the bed. I drape the coat over my frame and button up the front.

It was more alike to a cloak, as it reached down to my mid-calf. It was a dark grey and made of a heavier woolen material, buttoning snugly across my torso, yet the lower half remained open the front to show my legs. There were three large buttons that held the top half shut on an off centre join, and a hood that rested with a comforting weight on my back. I tucked my hands into the deep pockets as I buried my chin into the collar that was straight cut across my neck, instead of the more common V shape.

It calmed me as the pressure blanketed around my body. I turned back to Ink and nodded my thanks to him, tension releasing as I warmed up in the wool. He grinned brightly as I sat down once more, settling in as I prepared myself to ask some questions.

“So, what were you trying to achieve?” I bluntly stated, hands clenching in their pockets. Ink’s smile appears slightly strained, yet he claps his hands together ad he begins to answer.

“Well, we hoped that their reactions would convince you of your problem,” I rolled my eyes. _Is he serious? Sending me to someone who is totally unhinged, yeah, great way to convince me of something that isn’t real._ “BUT! I can see that didn’t work.”

“Why are you trying to ‘help’ me anyway? Why me instead of someone who actually needs it?” I physically lifted my hands to draw the air quotes, but I was completely serious in my questions. He clearly notices the shift in the mood, and releases his childish demeanour in favour of maturity.

“I know you won’t believe me about your problems, but you are the person we choose to help.” _At least that has gotten into his skull._ My hands bury themselves once more as I brace myself for the answer that had been in the back of my mind across the last two days.

“You are important.”

… _That’s it? Are you serious?_ He looks at me expectantly. _What do you want me to do, jump up dancing?_ I just sit there in confusion as he remains the same. Not even acknowledging my lack of reaction, he just steamrolls ahead and starts to talk about my interests, quizzing me with a barrage of questions as he reverts back to his excitable nature.

“Do you like to draw? Write? Paint? Ooh, how about dancing?” My mind was in a whirl over what he was asking me. I robotically answer that no, I don’t do any of that, as I try to sort out my thoughts. He deflates slightly, but still asks me once more.

“What do you do then?” I go to answer only to pause. _What… do I do?_ I close my mouth again and furrow my eyebrows.

I had never thought about it before. _Do I have any hobbies? I go to work, but that isn’t a character trait_. My head tilts as my gaze wanders off. _I enjoy counting my calories, but what person doesn’t keep track of what they eat? Plus, dieting isn’t really a hobby either. I used to write short stories, but I stopped doing that almost a year ago, and my violin a couple months before that._

Ink watches them contemplate in concern. He had never run into someone that had thought so hard about that question. Most people had at least one thing, even if it was playing video games or napping. After he noticed their vacant gaze, he just sighed in concern. Pulling out a sketchbook, he decided to let them think in peace.

A light ‘scritching’ came from his pencil.


End file.
